FBI never asked Clinton aides for their devices

The FBI requested all the computers that were used in conjunction with Hillary Clinton's private server, but a new report states the former secretary of state's top aides were never asked to turn over their computers or smartphones. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The FBI requested all the computers that were used in conjunction with Hillary Clinton's private server, but a new report states the former secretary of state's top aides were never asked to turn over their computers or smartphones.

"No one was asked for devices by the FBI," an anonymous source familiar with the investigation told Politico late Tuesday.

Since aides did not turn over their devices, their attorneys were instead the ones guiding investigators in their search despite their looking out for their clients' best interests.

This news has attracted the attention of Republican lawmakers who want to know why the probe into the now-Democratic nominee's server was not executed more thoroughly.

"The more we learn about the FBI's initial investigation into Secretary Clinton's unauthorized use of a private email server, the more questions we have about the thoroughness of the investigation and the administration's conclusion to not prosecute her for mishandling classified information," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told Politico.

FBI Director James Comey has defended the agency's decision not to search all of Clinton's aides' devices.

"Secretary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department, and used numerous mobile devices to view and send email on that personal domain. As new servers and equipment were employed, older servers were taken out of service, stored, and decommissioned in various ways," Comey said. "Piecing all of that back together—to gain as full an understanding as possible of the ways in which personal email was used for government work — has been a painstaking undertaking, requiring thousands of hours of effort."

The Tuesday findings come days after the FBI announced it was conducting a separate investigation into thousands of emails from Clinton aide Huma Abedin while it was investigating her estranged husband Anthony Weiner for allegedly sexting a minor.